&#8220;Mako, you&#8217;re getting married. I&#8217;m so glad. I&#8217;m so happy for you.
Midori Watanabe, a journalist for the Imperial Household and a visiting professor at Bunka Gakuen University, congratulated Mako on her marriage. Ms. Watanabe has consistently spoken out in favor of Mako&#8217;s marriage. There is a reason why she has spoken out in favor of the idea, despite the public&#8217;s concerns and the many anonymous &#8220;officials&#8221; and &#8220;imperial family journalists.
<figure id="attachment_203229" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2672px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-203229"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="238045a0"><img src="https://gsjebzejhjubm-res.cloudinary.com/image/private/s--BKYZmV-e--/t_article_image/v1630669950/aflo_122924018_gnkyei.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-203229" class="wp-caption-text">&#8220;Princess Mako has fulfilled her wish to marry by the age of 30. I can&#8217;t help but pray for abundant blessings for the young couple&#8217;s future.</figcaption></figure>
 &#8220;First of all, Mako really likes him now, and I value her feelings. However, there is one condition. There is no small amount of money to be prepared for a marriage. If the two young people are prepared to work together to make a living without accepting that money, then I don&#8217;t think there is anything to be afraid of.
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The lump sum to be paid upon Mako&#8217;s marriage is about 130 million yen. The lump-sum payment for Mako&#8217;s marriage will be about 130 million yen, but she is reportedly thinking of &#8220;declining&#8221; this payment. It was also reported that the various marriage ceremonies will not be held.
 &#8220;That&#8217;s fine. If that&#8217;s the case, people won&#8217;t say I&#8217;m just looking for a lump sum. I think you made a very good decision not to have a lavish ceremony for the Corona disaster. Of course, that doesn&#8217;t mean that there won&#8217;t be any security or other burdens, but even so, it&#8217;s such a graceful and simple departure from the Imperial Family to the private sector to start a new family. I think it&#8217;s a wonderful thing.
Her partner, Kei Komuro, has been studying in the U.S., and Mako has had to deal with a lot of bashing on her own in Japan. In the Akishino family, there have been times when things have been strained within the family.
 &#8220;Even after all these years, she has continued to hold on to her feelings. Some people say that the four years since the engagement were a long time, but that&#8217;s not quite right. In the first place, imperial marriages take time. And opposing opinions are bound to arise.
 Even when Michiko got married, there was a lot of resistance because she was &#8216;from the common people.
<h2>Marriage in the Imperial Family &#8220;takes time.</h2>
 &#8220;In 1986, Crown Prince Tokujin met Masako Owada and made many passionate love calls to her. It took seven years from the time they met to the time of their marriage.
 In the case of Her Imperial Highness Princess Michiko, it took two years from the time Prince Akihito, then Crown Prince, expressed his desire to marry Michiko Shoda, whom he met on a tennis court, until their marriage. At that time, however, the members of the Imperial Family were fiercely opposed to the idea. It may be hard to imagine now, but it was a very big deal.
 She overcame such bashing and got married. And then there was an unprecedented boom in Michi&#8217;s popularity. I&#8217;m sure they had a lot of hardships, but from the Showa era to the Heisei era and even now, the two of them have maintained their firm trust and bond.
The fact that His Highness the Emperor and Michiko are still living in harmony may be the greatest support for Mako, who is &#8220;committed to love.
<h2>Her parents&#8217; relationship and marriage are also. ..</h2>
 &#8220;The two of them met on the campus of Gakushuin and developed their love for each other through on-campus relationships. Through circle activities and group activities, they became closer and closer. Neither the Emperor nor Michiko had any particular objection to the marriage of these two young people.
At the time of their relationship, their &#8220;usual course&#8221; was to enjoy tennis at the tennis courts in Akasaka Palace as a group and then have dinner at a nearby restaurant in Gaienmae. After dinner, when we parted ways with our friends, I would say
 &#8220;After dinner, when they parted ways with their friends, they would say goodbye to each other, with everyone on this side of the court and Reimiya on the other side, returning to Akasaka Palace. At that time, for some reason, Noriko was standing next to Reimiya.
And on the way home, the two young people hugged each other in the ginkgo trees in front of Gaien.
 &#8220;Mako&#8217;s single-mindedness in love, or in other words, her stubbornness, must be inherited from her father (laughs).
Mako is planning to marry within the year and move to the United States to live. Mako, who does not have a regular family register, is expected to leave the imperial family by submitting a marriage certificate to Mr. Komuro, and then go to the U.S. after completing the necessary procedures for a passport and visa to live in the U.S.
 &#8220;The nature of the Imperial Family changes with the times. For example, the Akishino family has chosen to raise their children at schools other than Gakushuin. They have always been willing to go beyond the old ways. As the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, this marriage and this life that Mako has chosen may in a sense be the result of her &#8216;living up to her parents&#8217; expectations.
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&#8220;Marriage is something you decide for yourself.
&#8220;Marriage is something you decide for yourself,&#8221; Michiko is said to have often said. Her first grandchild, Mako, chose to marry. It would be one thing to sincerely congratulate her on a marriage that she chose with such determination.

 REX/Afro

 "I'm so happy that you're getting married, Mako. Midori Watanabe, an imperial family journalist and visiting professor at Bunka Gakuen University, congratulated Mako on her marriage. Ms. Watanabe has consistently expressed her support for Mako's marriage.

“A Journalist’s Wish: “Blessing for Mako’s Marriage

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